When in a cross race, bar the peaks, does one need extra stiffness around that area? For trail riding you say? Get a mountain bike!

Tend to agree with this. (edit: that applies to discs too.)

Doesn't look like there are any mudguard eyelets though?

It's a bike for racing, why would you want to fit mudguards?

Edit: manufacturers definitely seem to be targeting one of 3 categories with their "cyclocross" bikes. Those used for actual CX racing, those used for commuting (basically softer road bikes with fatter rubber, lower gearing and possibly discs) and those for a general messing about on a mix of road and trail rides.

Those used for actual CX racing, those used for commuting (basically softer road bikes with fatter rubber, lower gearing and possibly discs) and those for a general messing about on a mix of road and trail rides.

It's a bike for racing, why would you want to fit mudguards?
Use your imagination chump.

Wasn't being entirely serious with that comment

The TCX is meant to be an out and out CX race bike, as has been said mudguards have no place in CX racing so why fit eyelets? Similarly I wouldn't expect to find eyelets on a road bike intended for racing.

Aye, but that's 2 categories to me. Race, or non-race jack of all.

Yes, quite a few bikes straddle some of those categories, but I think if they do they are compromised in some way.

the through axle makes sense as reduces tendency for brake to twist the wheel out of the fork

think a while back someone posted a link to why the road rat had the disc calliper forward of the wheel as a way of dealing with this - suspect will be the norm on road bikes as think smaller rotors increase the leverage rather than decrease

I have the hope adaptor disc brakes - I haven't felt the fork go ,but I've had to tighten the headset two or three times. May have to stick another spacer on top. maybe 15mm would be an improvement? - it was on my mtb fork.

That Giant TCX SLR 2 does look a cracking weekend CX/weekday commuter for the money - mudguards should fit (there are eyelets front and back) although no bridge on the seat stays so I'm not sure how it will mount up there, but Giant also claim 'hidden' rack mounts too so i guess there's some sort of bolt on mount. Also, the cheaper model doesn't look like it has a 15mm axle although the website mentions it does. I've sent Giant some questions, will update if I get a response.

Giant have confirmed to me that the TCX SLR 2 has rack and mudguard mounts front and rear (adaptor supplied for the seat stays to add a bridge/mount). It is standard QR on the fork though. The higher end models that are 15mm TA on the front (and more than twice the price) use the same frame so the rear mounts are the same, but the forks don't seem to have mounts for mudguards (but to be honest I don't think anyone buying one of that spec will be using it for commuting!).

Not sure if it's really relavent as I'd not expect to find myself 5ft off the ground (and sideways, and heading for the ground at the wrong angle)too often on a CX bike, but on a particularly bad (crash) landing I managed to rip the QR axle out of the dropouts on my 29er.

And that was without bending the crest rims!

It's one of my main reasons for looking at suspension forks for the el-mariachi, to get a through-axle (rigid TA forks are slmost as much as the suspension ones!).

I suppose it's a race bike, they'll have decided a 15mm axle is lighter than the extra reinforcement it'd need with a QR to cope with a disk brake?